Full Version: New to Laser engraving equipment
From: john (LILB93) [#11]
14 Jan 2007
To: ALL
Actually our main business is motorcycle service shop, the kids run it. I just give orders and take abuse. Was looking for one to cut gasket material (which is pretty much compressed paper). The side cover gaskets for Kawasaki and Honda for some are close to 100.00 a 32" by 20" piece of material is $5.00 . Will a laser cut them?? without burning them up?? I don't know.
It is something I have been looking at for a while and came across this site. Thought I could pick some brains here...
From: sprinter [#12]
14 Jan 2007
To: john (LILB93) [#11] 14 Jan 2007
From: UncleSteve [#13]
14 Jan 2007
To: john (LILB93) [#11] 14 Jan 2007
None of the cycle gaskets I have ever seen or installed was much bigger than 6" -9" in either direction except for one tranny housing cover gasket that was about 15" if I remember correctly.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#14]
14 Jan 2007
To: john (LILB93) [#11] 14 Jan 2007
Lasers will absolutely cut gasket material and some people have created a lucrative niche with that application.
From: ab_laserart [#15]
14 Jan 2007
To: john (LILB93) [#9] 14 Jan 2007
Hi John,
I bought a machine similar to what you are looking at (if not the same). Mine was purchased directly from China which turned out to be the biggest draw-back. Shipping was lengthy and brokering the unit through customs was not much fun. Also it came with an "english" manual on disk that was about 33% as useful as it should have been. Tech support directly from China is pretty good and helpful but they are on the other side of the planet which means session tend to run past midnight.
If you are working through a distributer from the US I would think most of these issues would be resolved.
Technical items are as follows and keep in mind that I have no experience with any of the more "main stream" lasers:
Mine has a 60w glass laser tube that is obviously water cooled (and they did ship an extra tube with the machine). I probably have 500 hours of run time on mine and it has been very reliable so far. Like you I did the math on hours of use/dollars spent and figured this wasn't such a bad deal. I can replace mine for $220 plus shipping (~$40 if I remember correctly).
I had some issues with the reflecting and focusing optics for a while, but they are resolved now and it seems that it was a focus issue -- in that the laser beam was not aimed near enough to the center of the optics. I replaced a couple of the optics with replacement optics for Universal Lasers (through oemoptics.com and Michael) and there does seem to be a difference in quality. I went with the domestic optics because they were quicker to get and I was totally out of commission at one point. Fact is, you could replace all of the optics on the machine for relatively cheap money if you wanted to. (Less than $500).
Software-wise mine works seemlessly with the Corel Draw 12 suite and is compatible with AutoCad and Adobe Illustrator. In fact saving designs as .plt files in Draw is my most common application and the layering works extremely well with my laser software/driver.
I do not regret the decision to buy this laser one bit. Frankly I intend to make enough money off of it to buy an Epilog or Universal because I would like to enough business to keep multiple machines going, and I would like to see what an "expensive" machine is like. I'm sure you get more bells and whistles for that kind of money! I use the crap out of it and for the most part it is ready to go when I ask it to. The software is stable and almost never crashes, the hardware is durable and elegant in design. I believe I could replace any part on the machine by myself if I had to.
One concern if you are using this in your shop where you may have employees running it is a lack of some of the safety measures associated with other machines. I solely run mine so it does not concern me, but you can find other posting about "door magnets" and such on this forum. I can run my laser completely open (the lid and 6 access panels to the work area) if I choose. There are obvious safety implications here. Just something to keep in mind.
I don't want to imply that my machine is perfect, I have had issues to resolve (mentioned above) and it would have been easier if I could have called "Jim Bob" in Nebraska for tech support when ever I wanted. But, the machine does everything I ask it to do and I feel that it was a sound investment.
If you would like to talk to me directly, respond to this post and I would be happy to chat with you.
Hope this helps.
Ron
From: JHayes55 [#16]
14 Jan 2007
To: john (LILB93) [#11] 14 Jan 2007
The laser salesmen will throw rocks at me but here goes - Why would you want to invest the amount of money your talking about for a machine to just cut a few gaskets and play with? Please don't take me wrong but it is a good sized investment in cash and time for the learning curve that you will need to get to the point you want to be.
Could I suggest you contact a laser engraver in your area that will work with you on cutting your gaskets. The laser company reps can even give you a list of there customers to talk with. Most of us who do industrial type work would be glad to discuss your needs for gaskets work out a fair price when cutting multiples of the same product. If nothing else you will gain some knowledge about the process and what it will take to get the proper equipment to meet your needs. I know there has to be several people with lasers in your area.
I apologize up front if this offends you in any way - it is not my intention - obviously you can spend your money any way you please. I just hate to see you make a decision that you might regret in a few months.
If you decide to buy I strongly suggest you look carefully at all the companies who sell and service lasers carefully look at what training, after sale service, tech support and parts availability. Your rep from these companies can be a huge factor in your success. Have each company demo on materials you will be using and do a job you will be running.
I truly wish you the best success.
From: Hermes (HERMESSANDOVAL) [#17]
30 Mar 2007
To: ALL
A piece of my own experience; I bought two laser systems with Access Business Solutions, the second one was a decission made after experiencing the awesome service from the Bosworth family who runs this business. Their lasers are fully operational, refurbished used lasers that come guaranteed for six months usually. The guarantee on this two systems i have has long expired, but Robert Bosworth keeps taking my calls everytime I ring him and enlighting me out of my ignorance.
I strongly recommend checking out his page at www.usedlasers.com
p.s. I didn't receive a dime for this, it's just consumcer satisfaction.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#18]
30 Mar 2007
To: Hermes (HERMESSANDOVAL) [#17] 5 Apr 2007
Hermes,
My family and I had dinner with the Bosworths last Tuesday; they were in SoCal on business.
I can attest to them being very genuine and ethical businesspeople.
EDITED: 30 Mar 2007 by DGL
From: laserman (MIKEMAC) [#19]
30 Mar 2007
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#18] 30 Mar 2007
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#20]
30 Mar 2007
To: laserman (MIKEMAC) [#19] 2 Apr 2007
I met them briefly in Las Vegas, but getting to know them over dinner was very nice.
Rob's a kick in the "A". :-)
From: Dee (DEENA-ONLY) [#21]
30 Mar 2007
To: john (LILB93) [#11] Unread
Where is Barnesville PA? We live in Bensalem, a suburb of Philly. There is another laser owner on this forum that lives near Lancaster.
Dee
From: LaZerDude (C_BURKE) [#22]
30 Mar 2007
To: Dee (DEENA-ONLY) [#21] 30 Mar 2007
It is about 16 miles south of Leanto on the PA Turnpike...I believe near exit 24A. (devil)
From: Dee (DEENA-ONLY) [#23]
30 Mar 2007
To: LaZerDude (C_BURKE) [#22] 31 Mar 2007
Oh my. I am truly concerned.
Dee
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